The Pendulum

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. James1:5-8NIV

A double-minded person is unreliable, unhelpful, or as James puts it, ‘unstable’. Jesus’ half brother links that unstable mind to doubt, and warns that they should not expect God to work on their behalf. It would be a sad curse indeed if we could not expect to receive anything from the Lord because we doubted that He was capable of help.

In the same way, a pendulum will swing from one side to the other, never finding the truth in the middle, or rest long enough to sense or feel it. When the pendulum in my living room clock stops swinging, the clock stops too and becomes useless. Who needs a clock that doesn’t tell the time?

I am old enough to remember society having a set of moral and ethical values which were considered as ‘normal’. It wasn’t that we walked around with a set of rules in our pockets, we seemed to be wise enough to know right from wrong. Fast forward a short two generations, and that pendulum has swung to the other extreme. We are double-minded and unstable, but the leadership of our western civilised nations don’t, or can’t, see it. Surely we have been here before though?

It has been said, correctly I think, that “the one thing we learn from history is that we don’t learn from history”. Cast your mind back to your high school history lessons and ask yourself what came just before the fall of every great nation, country, or civilisation? In every case, the moral compass of the people collapsed into a level of evil and debased living which was not accepted or practiced previously. The pendulum had indeed swung, and the populations in general had become double-minded and unstable.

I hope, trust, and pray that the pendulum of our nation’s sinful practices has reached its extreme, and will soon start the return swing back towards the God fearing country we once knew. As christians we know that God hates double minded people, but loves it when we follow His law. Lord, help us to be single minded with our focus on You.

I hate double-minded people, but I love your law. Psalms119:113NIV